Tell me this isn't real! Matt had such a great and unique sensibility. Following some of his moves on Instagram, it seemed like he was making such great strides in the store displays in the fashion world after his move to NYC. Only got to hang with him briefly in the real world but he left a huge impression and I get the feeling that he was fellow-traveler status with many of the people who were lucky enough to cross his path. If this is true, I'm pouring out some very cheap beer and having many slices of pizza in his honor.
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
Awful news, what a shame to hear. I enjoyed going back and forth with him a couple times on here, he had a great sense of humor and was one of the people from this corner that I would have probably enjoyed having a drink with. RIP to the kid.
Like many here, I only knew the man through his online presence but he seemed like a legitimately great dude. My thoughts and condolences to his family and those of you who knew him well.
Holy shit. I'm in shock right now as I type this. Never met him but knew him online. Anybody who associates themselves with this site is Kindred. His mixes were always top notch and he had a lust for life and records that could rival anyone. RIP my dude.
Sometimes it takes a while for something like this to sink in. This picture really does it for me.
Matt was a great guy with a contagious smile, a twinkle in his eye, an ice cold beer in one hand and the Bop Gun in the other. .
Gonna miss you, bro. Wish we hung out more.
RIP Le Gaffleur
He looked up to you a lot.
For anyone interested, I'm getting word of a service for Matt in DC. I'll let everyone know the details as I get them.
Big_Stacks"I don't worry about hittin' power, cause I don't give 'em nuttin' to hit." 4,670 Posts
Hey Strutters,
This is absolutely tragic news about Matt's passing. I had the pleasure of meeting him 2 years ago during a business trip to Northern VA. He took me to a French Embassy party in DC, some record stores, and even sold me some LPs. He was an amazing host and a genuinely nice guy. His contribution to and presence in our community will be sorely missed. Rest in peace, Stackswell!!!
This is awful and horrifically sad. Matt was goofy, funny, kindhearted, generous and he delighted in questing, gathering info and general Willie Bobo Kicking, to use his words, using Pete Nices words before him. I got to know him over the past several years and he was always so geeked and positive. My last time seeing him he came out to see me Dj and was content lamping and full of nod and private jokes as I played which as we all know is nice when you're working. It was a beautiful memory and I can see his bright blue eyes right now as I summon my recollection of that evening. He was proud to be making his life now in NYC. He never hid his admiration for a lot of you on here, I know you might not say so here but I will- he celebrated and kept close tabs in supporting your endeavors, mixes, and general works with equal parts connoisseurship and unapologetic little dude fandom. That's many of you including my husband. Big time. What a sweet boy. I'm just flooded with sadness to think of him being alone in that terrible accident. I hope that in the coming days I will get contact info for his mother and let his family know more about my impressions of him. I'm terribly shocked and I'm angry too that he's gone and we can't have him back. Lots of love my young buck.
He never hid his admiration for a lot of you on here, I know you might not say so here but I will- he celebrated and kept close tabs in supporting your endeavors, mixes, and general works with equal parts connoisseurship and unapologetic little dude fandom.
This. I think what hurts most of all this is the feeling that somehow I never would be able to reciprocate that amount of genuine good dudeness, no matter how hard I tried. He bought albums through piecelock when I repeatedly told him I would gladly mail him one for free, he would email me, out of the blue, sound clips of music he thought I would appreciate. He would text to just say "yo" and send general blessings to me and my fam. I never did that to him.
Many years ago I once expressed to him that my favorite beer was Ghettoblaster from Detroit and this dude not only got a 6 pack of it somehow but then drove 5 hours to unexpectedly meet us in St Luis to drink the 6 pack with me. He slept in his car that night in the parking lot of our hotel and then drove home the next morning - He was really excited to share all of these mix cds he brought with him - he made that crazy trek solely to hang out, drink a beer and talk music for a few hours with me.
2 weeks ago when I was on tour in NYC he hit me up again to see if i was up for a hang out and even in his own city I couldn't fucking make the time to drop by and drink a beer with my dude. I don't even know if this makes sense what I'm typing but he was the dude who would drive many many hours and go out of his way to share and be solid and a lot of us never got a chance to do that for him.
need to take serious stock over her. This ones for you Matt/Geeks/Stackswell/Youngcoconutt
A close friend of mine recently got doored while riding his bike to work and got pretty fucked up.
In my city it seems like there is some war going on with people attitudes towards people on bikes. As someone who drives and bikes, I've learned to just add extra caution to anyone riding a bike anywhere in my vicinity while I'm driving.
I know nothing of the particulars. But nobody deserves this outcome riding their bike. It's a terrible loss.
It's kinda heartbreaking reading how he touched each of you guys that knew him and the loss felt.
He never hid his admiration for a lot of you on here, I know you might not say so here but I will- he celebrated and kept close tabs in supporting your endeavors, mixes, and general works with equal parts connoisseurship and unapologetic little dude fandom.
This.
need to take serious stock over her.
Right on. The dude was just so unapologetically geeked (pardon the pun) from the very first I ever encountered him. So full of equal parts excitement and admiration for the game, whether it be music, graf, 'lo, food, beverages, lore, ephemera... he loved the who/where/what/why of shit... not a cynical bone in him which many of us could take as a lesson. I feel like these days everyone's in "the game" or *some* game, every communication a potential press release, each social interaction a potential networking opportunity... pick your turn of phrase, too many chiefs not enough indians, too many players not enough fans... whatever. I am as guilty as the next of this. And I have to take some stock too, as Thes said, and let this be an opportunity to knowledge the god Stackswell for what he truly brought to the table, a charming and contagious joy that there is not enough of in the world.
I hope he didn't suffer. And I hope whoever hit him is brought to account.
I got to know Matt pretty well in his last year living in DC before he relocated up to NYC. I had kicked it with him a few time before then -- mostly drinking cheap beers in the summer time in various locales, me mostly trying to keep up with his insane record knowledge and stay half as positive about everything as he was. Whenever I saw him he always was 100% genuine and seemed truly happy to be there. Zero negativity.
During his last year or so living here, he started helping me out with some of my wedding DJ gigs -- which basically meant we would hang out and work for an entire Saturday together, sometimes driving for a couple hours each way. Wedding gigs can be pretty painful, but they were always a good time (no matter how lame the event -- and some were pretty lame) when Matt came along. It got to the point where even if I could probably swing it solo, I would still check if Matt was available to help. He made the events better for everyone -- he would have a little fun on the mic, flirt a little with the staff. Again, he was always 100% genuine and seemed truly happy to be there. I was obviously happy for him when he told me he was moving, but also selfishly a little bummed because weddings would start feeling like work again.
Sadly, I think I only saw him once or twice since he moved to NYC (I can't even remember where), but I sure will miss him.
I hope that in the coming days I will get contact info for his mother and let his family know more about my impressions of him.
A**y, please let them know how many people he touched in his life. Seeing this thread and reading people's comments on Instagram/twitter etc. really brings home what an awesome dude Matt was (fuck. Just typing that breaks my heart).
I didn't get to hang with him as much as I would have liked to, but he always had jokes, record knowledge and was always down to vibe out when I was in DC. Genuinely good person who will be greatly missed. RIP Stackswell.
I met Matt thru SoulStrut. I've been checking all day and reading all of these stories and have found great comfort in them.
I wasn't dreaming, my man was just that awesome.
We didn't share any mutual friends really, so I've been grieving thru this site,
so here are a few pics I thought i'd share.
Exhibit A:
My girl took this at some cheap spot in downtown DC the night before I was to give my dad's eulogy the next morning.
Your boy showed up with like five shirts on and two flasks of Special Stacks Blend Hennessey, infused with coffee,
one for him, one for me. We wandered around sipping and talking and the night culminated in him listening to
me practice the eulogy sitting on a rock under the P street bridge. Just the best.
P.S.- My wife had this tagged forever on fb as "Goofy and Goofier" Shoutout to AKAllDay, Matt was suuuuper goofy,
and my goofiness struggled to keep up with such a GoofMaster.
Exhibit B:
My first week in D.C. Matt took me bar hopping, introduced me to like twenty people and refused to let
me pay for a beer. I had just met him the day before.
Exhibit C:
Last time I saw him in person.
My last time in DC, went and checked his gig at some thrift boutique opening party he was dj'n.
Not much of a crowd, so we spent all night taking stupid pictures, choosing thrift hats for him to don behind the turntables,
taking bat hits on the patio and generally goofing off. So good. His Sweatshirt game was tight.
This has hit me hard.
Love you boy, rest in power.
I didn't hang out a ton with Matt, but he was the type of dude who after you met him once, was a best friend for life. He just had that vibe, get a little turnt, burn some trees, and cool out man. And really, who doesn't have a story about this guy?! The last time I saw Matt was back in December at a small record show in a bar in Brooklyn. At one point I went to the bathroom and saw a dude on the decks dipped in Polo playing disco funk, and thought "Damn, a Stackswell doppelganger!" A few minutes later I'm back at my table and the bol walks over "Roberto?!" and it was like I had just seen him yesterday instead of a year or two before. So we just fell in like nothing, telling jokes, party and bullshit, right? Later on this grizzled Brooklyn lez drinking a white wine spritzer comes over to get us to look at her mom's records. Matt's indulging her and busting jokes. I tell her to bring on some trades. She comes back with "The Pleasures of Love" I'm like "What the hell is this?" and Matt without missing a beat puts on his best Selma voice (he sure loved his Simpsons) and says "Robertuuuuuuuhhhhh itssss a seeeeeexxxxxxxxxx recuuuurrrrrrdddddd" I almost pissed my pants laughing. We spent the rest of the night talking to each other like Patty and Selma.
I learned that night he had moved to Brooklyn and we always talked about linking up. He texted me randomly a few times to come out to his DJ nights, but I always had a cheap excuse not to go. Now I highly regret it. The few times I hung out with him were always a great time. My condolences go out to all his friends and family. Peace to you Matt, rest easy.
I've never met him but the stories above make me wish I did. I was going to say...
Garcia_Vega said:
he sure loved his Simpsons
The Goofball avatar reminds me of that scene where Bart terrorizes the guy in the Itchy costume at the Westworld-like theme park. "I just want to entertain!!!". Here's to you.
I didn't hang out a ton with Matt, but he was the type of dude who after you met him once, was a best friend for life. He just had that vibe, get a little turnt, burn some trees, and cool out man. And really, who doesn't have a story about this guy?! The last time I saw Matt was back in December at a small record show in a bar in Brooklyn. At one point I went to the bathroom and saw a dude on the decks dipped in Polo playing disco funk, and thought "Damn, a Stackswell doppelganger!" A few minutes later I'm back at my table and the bol walks over "Roberto?!" and it was like I had just seen him yesterday instead of a year or two before. So we just fell in like nothing, telling jokes, party and bullshit, right? Later on this grizzled Brooklyn lez drinking a white wine spritzer comes over to get us to look at her mom's records. Matt's indulging her and busting jokes. I tell her to bring on some trades. She comes back with "The Pleasures of Love" I'm like "What the hell is this?" and Matt without missing a beat puts on his best Selma voice (he sure loved his Simpsons) and says "Robertuuuuuuuhhhhh itssss a seeeeeexxxxxxxxxx recuuuurrrrrrdddddd" I almost pissed my pants laughing. We spent the rest of the night talking to each other like Patty and Selma.
.
that was some funny stuff in park slope, had me in stitches
I met Matt thru SoulStrut. We wandered around sipping and talking and the night culminated in him listening to
me practice the eulogy sitting on a rock under the P street bridge. Just the best.
So good. His Sweatshirt game was tight.
This has hit me hard.
Love you boy, rest in power.
He only had the best things to say about you - I remember before you came to DC that time for your dad, he told me so many stories about you and what a great guy you were. The love was reciprocal.
This is so much harder than I ever thought it would be, I have no words, but I am SO happy to see all of the love for Matt here. I know he was a big contributor to this site and looked up to so many of you. I have almost every mix he ever made since we met and started dating in 2009 - sometime soon I'll go through and try to get them up for people to hear, if they haven't been up here yet.
This is one of my favorite pictures of us - Matt being his usual goofy, doesn't-give-a-shit self, dancing at Westway in NYC to a live set by one of his favorite dudes Roctakon.
Comments
RIP, and condolences to those on here who knew him.
Like many here, I only knew the man through his online presence but he seemed like a legitimately great dude. My thoughts and condolences to his family and those of you who knew him well.
oh shit...i am... thanks for keeping me in check yo!
Matt was a great guy with a contagious smile, a twinkle in his eye, an ice cold beer in one hand and the Bop Gun in the other. .
Gonna miss you, bro. Wish we hung out more.
RIP Le Gaffleur
For anyone interested, I'm getting word of a service for Matt in DC. I'll let everyone know the details as I get them.
This is absolutely tragic news about Matt's passing. I had the pleasure of meeting him 2 years ago during a business trip to Northern VA. He took me to a French Embassy party in DC, some record stores, and even sold me some LPs. He was an amazing host and a genuinely nice guy. His contribution to and presence in our community will be sorely missed. Rest in peace, Stackswell!!!
Peace,
Big Stacks from Kakalak
This. I think what hurts most of all this is the feeling that somehow I never would be able to reciprocate that amount of genuine good dudeness, no matter how hard I tried. He bought albums through piecelock when I repeatedly told him I would gladly mail him one for free, he would email me, out of the blue, sound clips of music he thought I would appreciate. He would text to just say "yo" and send general blessings to me and my fam. I never did that to him.
Many years ago I once expressed to him that my favorite beer was Ghettoblaster from Detroit and this dude not only got a 6 pack of it somehow but then drove 5 hours to unexpectedly meet us in St Luis to drink the 6 pack with me. He slept in his car that night in the parking lot of our hotel and then drove home the next morning - He was really excited to share all of these mix cds he brought with him - he made that crazy trek solely to hang out, drink a beer and talk music for a few hours with me.
2 weeks ago when I was on tour in NYC he hit me up again to see if i was up for a hang out and even in his own city I couldn't fucking make the time to drop by and drink a beer with my dude. I don't even know if this makes sense what I'm typing but he was the dude who would drive many many hours and go out of his way to share and be solid and a lot of us never got a chance to do that for him.
need to take serious stock over her. This ones for you Matt/Geeks/Stackswell/Youngcoconutt
Set sail my dude and rest easy http://www.soulstrut.com/index.php?/mixes/indepth/set_sail/
In my city it seems like there is some war going on with people attitudes towards people on bikes. As someone who drives and bikes, I've learned to just add extra caution to anyone riding a bike anywhere in my vicinity while I'm driving.
I know nothing of the particulars. But nobody deserves this outcome riding their bike. It's a terrible loss.
It's kinda heartbreaking reading how he touched each of you guys that knew him and the loss felt.
But also shows how great a human being he was.
Right on. The dude was just so unapologetically geeked (pardon the pun) from the very first I ever encountered him. So full of equal parts excitement and admiration for the game, whether it be music, graf, 'lo, food, beverages, lore, ephemera... he loved the who/where/what/why of shit... not a cynical bone in him which many of us could take as a lesson. I feel like these days everyone's in "the game" or *some* game, every communication a potential press release, each social interaction a potential networking opportunity... pick your turn of phrase, too many chiefs not enough indians, too many players not enough fans... whatever. I am as guilty as the next of this. And I have to take some stock too, as Thes said, and let this be an opportunity to knowledge the god Stackswell for what he truly brought to the table, a charming and contagious joy that there is not enough of in the world.
I hope he didn't suffer. And I hope whoever hit him is brought to account.
I got to know Matt pretty well in his last year living in DC before he relocated up to NYC. I had kicked it with him a few time before then -- mostly drinking cheap beers in the summer time in various locales, me mostly trying to keep up with his insane record knowledge and stay half as positive about everything as he was. Whenever I saw him he always was 100% genuine and seemed truly happy to be there. Zero negativity.
During his last year or so living here, he started helping me out with some of my wedding DJ gigs -- which basically meant we would hang out and work for an entire Saturday together, sometimes driving for a couple hours each way. Wedding gigs can be pretty painful, but they were always a good time (no matter how lame the event -- and some were pretty lame) when Matt came along. It got to the point where even if I could probably swing it solo, I would still check if Matt was available to help. He made the events better for everyone -- he would have a little fun on the mic, flirt a little with the staff. Again, he was always 100% genuine and seemed truly happy to be there. I was obviously happy for him when he told me he was moving, but also selfishly a little bummed because weddings would start feeling like work again.
Sadly, I think I only saw him once or twice since he moved to NYC (I can't even remember where), but I sure will miss him.
RIP buddy.
A**y, please let them know how many people he touched in his life. Seeing this thread and reading people's comments on Instagram/twitter etc. really brings home what an awesome dude Matt was (fuck. Just typing that breaks my heart).
I didn't get to hang with him as much as I would have liked to, but he always had jokes, record knowledge and was always down to vibe out when I was in DC. Genuinely good person who will be greatly missed. RIP Stackswell.
Stay safe out there, everyone.
I wasn't dreaming, my man was just that awesome.
We didn't share any mutual friends really, so I've been grieving thru this site,
so here are a few pics I thought i'd share.
Exhibit A:
My girl took this at some cheap spot in downtown DC the night before I was to give my dad's eulogy the next morning.
Your boy showed up with like five shirts on and two flasks of Special Stacks Blend Hennessey, infused with coffee,
one for him, one for me. We wandered around sipping and talking and the night culminated in him listening to
me practice the eulogy sitting on a rock under the P street bridge. Just the best.
P.S.- My wife had this tagged forever on fb as "Goofy and Goofier" Shoutout to AKAllDay, Matt was suuuuper goofy,
and my goofiness struggled to keep up with such a GoofMaster.
Exhibit B:
My first week in D.C. Matt took me bar hopping, introduced me to like twenty people and refused to let
me pay for a beer. I had just met him the day before.
Exhibit C:
Last time I saw him in person.
My last time in DC, went and checked his gig at some thrift boutique opening party he was dj'n.
Not much of a crowd, so we spent all night taking stupid pictures, choosing thrift hats for him to don behind the turntables,
taking bat hits on the patio and generally goofing off. So good. His Sweatshirt game was tight.
This has hit me hard.
Love you boy, rest in power.
I didn't hang out a ton with Matt, but he was the type of dude who after you met him once, was a best friend for life. He just had that vibe, get a little turnt, burn some trees, and cool out man. And really, who doesn't have a story about this guy?! The last time I saw Matt was back in December at a small record show in a bar in Brooklyn. At one point I went to the bathroom and saw a dude on the decks dipped in Polo playing disco funk, and thought "Damn, a Stackswell doppelganger!" A few minutes later I'm back at my table and the bol walks over "Roberto?!" and it was like I had just seen him yesterday instead of a year or two before. So we just fell in like nothing, telling jokes, party and bullshit, right? Later on this grizzled Brooklyn lez drinking a white wine spritzer comes over to get us to look at her mom's records. Matt's indulging her and busting jokes. I tell her to bring on some trades. She comes back with "The Pleasures of Love" I'm like "What the hell is this?" and Matt without missing a beat puts on his best Selma voice (he sure loved his Simpsons) and says "Robertuuuuuuuhhhhh itssss a seeeeeexxxxxxxxxx recuuuurrrrrrdddddd" I almost pissed my pants laughing. We spent the rest of the night talking to each other like Patty and Selma.
I learned that night he had moved to Brooklyn and we always talked about linking up. He texted me randomly a few times to come out to his DJ nights, but I always had a cheap excuse not to go. Now I highly regret it. The few times I hung out with him were always a great time. My condolences go out to all his friends and family. Peace to you Matt, rest easy.
The Goofball avatar reminds me of that scene where Bart terrorizes the guy in the Itchy costume at the Westworld-like theme park. "I just want to entertain!!!". Here's to you.
that was some funny stuff in park slope, had me in stitches
appreciate each moment
r.i.p.
He only had the best things to say about you - I remember before you came to DC that time for your dad, he told me so many stories about you and what a great guy you were. The love was reciprocal.
This is so much harder than I ever thought it would be, I have no words, but I am SO happy to see all of the love for Matt here. I know he was a big contributor to this site and looked up to so many of you. I have almost every mix he ever made since we met and started dating in 2009 - sometime soon I'll go through and try to get them up for people to hear, if they haven't been up here yet.
This is one of my favorite pictures of us - Matt being his usual goofy, doesn't-give-a-shit self, dancing at Westway in NYC to a live set by one of his favorite dudes Roctakon.
Lily